William wickersham



TO ALL WHOM IT MAY ICONGERN:

@einen gisten ntent @ffice WILLlAM WGKERSHAM, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

Letters fuient o. 80,320, dated July 2S, 1868.

Vntrneinn RAILWAY-entita.

Be it known that I, WILLIAM lilronnnsnsar, of Boston, in the county-ot`Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulMethod or Device for Securing the Ends ofrlails in Railway-Chairs; and'Ihereby declare that the following is a full and exact descriptionthereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and thelett-ers and iigurcs of reference marked thereon. i

The nature et' my invention consists in securing the ends of rails ofrailways in the'chairs, which support `them automatically--` Tbe.irstfeature of which relates to the method of securing the rail by means ofa spring anda wedge,

and consists in constructing the chair suitably for the admission ot therails, wit-h cavities, over or under or at the edge of the flanges ofthe rails, or at any part of said rails, of suitable shape for theadmission ef a wedge, and then `the construction and placingtherein awedge, in connection with a spring, and all se arranged that the springshall exert a constant elastic force on the wedge, impelling it from thelarger portion of the said space in the chair to thc Smaller part,thereby forcing-one side of said wedge on` to the rail, securing itfirmly in theplace at all times, however much it may be worn by use,thus at all times compensating for the wear of the rail.

p The second feature of niy sontion relates to the securing of the endsof rails in railway-chairs by means of two wedges, and consists in theproper construction of the chair to receive a wedge, which wedge isforced on to the rail by another wedge n'iovod by its own weight, orotherwise, thereby. securing the rail rmly in its place in the chair, bya constantly active and automatic force always compensating for the wearof the rail.

In my drawings- Figure his a plan view of my chair, showing the end et'a rail secured in it.

Figure 2 is a cross and perpendicular section of' my chair in the redlinef, showing the wedge operated by a spring on one side, and the wedgeoperated by another wedge on the other side, showing also the positionof the rail in the chair, with the wedges resting ou the flanges.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal and perpendicular section in the red line g,through the wedge operated by a spring, showing the flange of the rail,with portions ol".the chair above and below it, also showing the Spacein the chair for the wedge, with the wedge in it, also showing themanner in -which Vthe spring is placed in the wedge, and thc space backof it to drive the 'wedge on te the rail.

Figure 4 is the section in the red line 71, showing the manner in whichthe'wedge is placed in the chair, which is operated by another wedge insecuring the rail.

a is the body of the chain, into which my automatic device for holdingthe rail is placed.

I) is the rail.

c is thewedge, moved by a spring.

d is the wedge, moved by another wedge.

e is the wedge, which moves the wedge d, and holds it on to the fange ofthe rail, thereby securing it firmly.

At z' is the spring, moving the wedge c.

At` d and c, fig. 1, is shawn, in dotted lines, a plan view of the twowedges, which rest on the flanges of the rail..

My device operates in the following manner:

The spiral spring z' is placed in the cavity or hole in the wedge c, andthe wedge, provided with the spring, is placed in the space in the chairover the flange as shown in section, Hg. 3.

rlhe spring 2J-works in an obvious manner, exerting a constant elasticforce on the wedge c, drivingr it into a narrower space, and on to theflange Z1 of the rail, thereby securing-it irmly in its place, thewearing of the rail always being compensated by the wedge moving fartherinto its space. I

The wedge cZ has a mertise through it, through which the perpendicularwedge e passes, which also passes through a mortise in the chair. Thismortise in the wedge i is `inst outside of the flange of theral,`allowing the inner part of said wedge to rest on the flange of therail, as shown in iig. 2. The wedge d being thus formed, is placed intothe space over the flange of the rail, thenthe wedge e is dropped intoits space, and is of such form and size as by its own weight will pressagainst the'end ofthe mortise towards the thin end ofthe wedge d, and inan obvious manner drive said wedge d into a narrower space over theflange of thc rail, thereby securing permanently and automatically therail, and compensating for the Wearing of the said rail.

These wedges, as described, may be placed under or over the anges, or attheir edges, or in case the spring is iised under the rail, or a springof any kind or form, which may be applied to the wedge, ,may be used,which may exert a constant force upon the wedge in pressiu'g it elose'ontothe flange of the rail, as shown in iig. 4.

In my application, filed November 22, 1867, I claimed the automaticprinciple, and I put this principle into a practicable form by usingscrew-cylindersrover the anges of the rails, and Ain one case thesecylinders were operated by springs, and in the other case by a Wedge,causing the cylinders to screw down on tothe ilangcs of the rails,thereby securing them; and although I had at that time invented thedevices described in this specification, I did not put them into thatapplication, because I thought the automatic principle suicientlyillustrated bythe screw-cylinders, and the two methods of operatingthem. But believing the other two devices described in thisspecification new, practicable, and patentable, I new think best to makethem the subject of new application, and I' do not limit myself to theexact form shown in my drawings, as the same principle may be varied inmany ways.

I have shown a short wedge, and applied it to the end ofonly onerail,.yet it may be' made of any desirable l length, and one wedgcbemade to secure both rails which rest in the same chair.

The wedge e may be made light, and an additional weight may be attached'to it tovgive greater force to thewedge on the ange 'of the rail, and inmany ways the form of the devices may be varied, still retaining theautomatic element, which I consider the principle of my invention.

To malte the ends of 'the rails, and indeed the whole length Aof therails, permanently secure in their positions, and in such a manner thatthey will continue so until worn out,is a thing of great value tomankind; it adds much to the economy of the business of the roads, anda'great deal to the safety of travel on them, which, considering themany disastrous 'accidents that have from time to time occurred', mustbe regarded as of the utmost consequence; and many of these fatalaccidents have been shown tohave taken place on account of rails gettingloose, and I contend that this must ever be the case until an automaticfastening be applied tothe rail.

My, invention thus described, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-

1. In railway-rail chairs, the wedge c, incombination with the spring z'and the chair, operating substantially in-.the manner and for thepurpose set forth.

I 2. The wedge d, in combination with thewedge c and the chair,substantiallyin the manner and for the purpose set forth.

WILLIAM WICKERSHAM.

Witnesses:

A. D. PARKER, B. DAvrs WasHisUnu.,

